Again, is it righteous to deny the Lord that bought thee, to neglect that great salvation which He is the author of? And whereas He came to bless thee in turning thee from thine iniquities, wilfully to remain still in an accursed servitude to sin? when He was made manifest to destroy the works of the devil, still to yield thyself a captive at his will? whereas He died that thou mightest not any longer live to thyself, but to Him that died for thee, and rose again; and that He might redeem thee from thy vain conversation, and that thou art so expressly told, that such as still lead sensual lives, mind earthly things, have not their conversation in heaven, are enemies to the cross of Christ. Is it no unrighteousness, that in these respects thy whole life should be nothing else but a constant contradiction to the very design of his dying? a perpetual hostility, a very tilting at his cross? Is there no unrighteousness in thy obstinate infidelity, that wickedly denies belief to his glorious truths, acceptance of his gracious offers, subjection to his holy laws? No unrighteousness in thy obstinate, remorseless impenitency? thy heart that connot repent? that melts not, while a crucified Jesus, amidst his agonies and dying pangs, cries to thee from the cross, O sinner, enough, thy hard heart breaks mine! yield at last, and turn to God. Is it righteous, to live as no way under law to Christ? to persist in actual rebellion against his just government, which he died, and revived, aud rose again, to establish over the living and the dead? yea, and that while thou pretendest thyself a christian? In a word: Is it righteous to tread under foot the Son of God, to vilify his blood, and despise his Spirit; Is this the righteousness that thou talkest of? Are these thy qualifications for the everlasting blessedness? If thou say, thou confessest thou art in thyself, in these several respects, altogether unrighteous: but thou hopest the righteousness of Christ will be sufficient to answer for all; no doubt Christ's righteousness is abundantly available to all the ends for which it was intended by the Father and Him; but it shall never answer all the ends that a foolish wicked heart will fondly imagine to itself.

In short, it serves to excuse thy non-performance of, and stands instead of thy perfect sinless obedience to, the law of works; but it serves not instead of thy performance of what is required of thee, as the condition of the gospel-covenant. That is, It shall never supply the room of faith, repentance, regeneration, holiness, the loving of Christ above all, and God in Him; so as to render these unnecessary, or salvation possible without them. There is not one iota, or tittle in the Bible, that so much as intimates an unregenerate person, an unbeliever, an impenitent or unholy person, shall be saved by Christ's righteousness; but enough to the contrary, every one knows that hath the least acquaintance with the Scriptures. Vain man! what, is Christ divided and divided against Himself;

Christ without, against Christ within! His sufferings on the cross and foregoing obedience, against his Spirit and government in the soul? Did Christ die to take away the necessity of our being christians? And must his death serve not to destroy sin out of the world, but Christianity? Who hath taught thee so wickedly to misunderstand the design of Christ's dying? And when the Scripture so plainly tells thee, that God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. John. 3. 16. And that he became the author of eternal salvation to them that obey Him; (Heb. 5. 9.) yea, and that He will come in flaming fire to take vengeance on them that know and obey Him not. What should induce thee to think thou mayest be saved by Him, whether thou believest and obeyest or not? No, if ever thou think to see God, and be happy in Him, thou must have a righteousness in thee resembling his; the very product, the thing wrought in the work of regeneration. If ye know that He is righteous, ye know that every one that doth righteousness is born of him. Whereupon follows the description of the blessedness of such righteous ones, in the beginning of the next chapter,-They are sons-they shall be like, &c. So that in a word, without some sight of God here, there is no seeing Him hereafter; without some likeness to Him now, none hereafter. And such as are destitute of that heartconformity to the gospel, wherein the evangelical righteousness stands, are so far from it, that we may say to them as our Saviour to the Jews, Ye have neither heard his voice, nor seen his shape, (John. 5. 37.) that is, you have never had a right notion, or any the least true glimpse of him; your hearts are wholly destitute of all divine impressions whatsoever.

8. We may further infer, from this qualification of the subject of blessedness, that righteousness is no vain thing. That is not in vain, that ends so well, and hath so happy an issue at last. Scripture tells us, that the labor of the righteous tendeth to life: (Prov. 10. 16.) and that we may understand it of their labor as they are righteous, we are more plainly told, that righteousness tendeth to life; (ch. 11. 19.) and that to them that sow righteousness shall be a sure reward. (ver. 18.) that the righteous shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. (Matt. 13. 43.) the righteous into eternal life. Ch. 25. 46. And we here see that righteousness ends in the blessed sight of God's glorious face, in being satisfied with the divine likeness. Foolish sinners are justly upbraided that they spend their labor for that which satisfies not; (Isa. 55. 2.) take much pains to no purpose; such are all the works, of sin, toilsome, fruitless; what fruit had ye of those things (namely, which ye wrought when you were free from righteousness) whereof ye are now ashamed; for the end of those things is death.

(it follows) being now made free from sin, and become servants to God (which is paraphased above by servants to righteousness) ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. Rom. 6. 20-22. The fruit is a continual increase of holiness, a growing more and more like God; till at last everlasting life, satisfaction with his likeness, do crown and consummate all.

You have now what to answer to the atheist's profane query, What profit is it to serve God? to what purpose to lead so strict and precise a life? You may now see to what purpose it is; and whereunto godliness (which righteousness here includes) is profitable as having, besides what it entitles to here, the promise of that life which is to come. There needs no more to discover any thing not to be vain (inasmuch as nothing can be said to be so, but in reference to an end, as being good for nothing) than the eviction of these two things:-that it aims at a truly worthy and valuable end; and-that its tendency thereto is direct and certain. In the present case, both these are obvious enough at the first view. For as to the former of them: all the world will agree, without disputing the matter, that the last end of man (that is, which he ultimately propounds to himself) is his best good: and that he can design no further good to himself than satisfaction; nothing after or beyond that: and what can afford it, if the vision and participation of the divine glory do not? As to the latter: besides all that assurance given by Scripture-constitution to the righteous man, concerning his future reward, let the consciences be consulted of the most besotted sinners, in any lucid interval, and they will give their suffrage (Balaam, that so earnestly followed the reward of unrighteousness, not excepted,) that the way of righteousness is that only likely way to happiness; and would therefore desire to die, at least the righteous man's death, and that their latter end should be like his. So is wisdom (I might call it righteousness too; the wicked man is the Scripture fool, and the righteous the wise man) justified not by her children only, but by her. enemies also. And sure, it is meet that she should be more openly justified by her children, and that they learn to silence and repress those mis-giving thoughts; Surely I have washed my hands in vain, &c. Psal. 73. 13. And be steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as they know their labor is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Cor. 15. 58.

CHAPTER XV.

Two other inferences, from the consideration of the season of this blessedness: The former, that inasmuch as this blessedness is not attained in this life, the present happiness of saints must in a great part consist in hope. The latter, that great is the wisdom and sagacity of the righteous man, which waves a present temporary happiness and chooses, that which is

distant and future.

Inasmuch as the season of this blessedness is not on this side the grave, nor expected by saints till they awake; we may further infer,

9. That their happiness in the mean time doth very much consist in hope; or that hope must needs be of very great necessity and use to them in their present state for their comfort and support. It were not otherwise possible to subsist in the absence and want of their highest good, while nothing in this lower world is, as to kind and nature, suitable to their desires, or makes any colorable overture to them of satisfaction and happiness. Others (as the psalmist observes) have their portion in this life; that good, which as to the species and kind of it, is most grateful to them, is present, under view, within sight; and (as the apostle Rom. 8. 24.) Hope that is seen is not hope, for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for it? But those whose more refined spirits, having received the first-fruits of the Holy Spirit of God, prompt them to groan after something beyond time, and above this sublunary sphere; of them the apostle there tells us, that they are saved by hope. They (as if he should say) subsist by it; they were never able to hold out, were it not for their hope; and that a hope too, beyond this life, as is the hope of a christian; if in this life only we had hope in Christ, &c. 1 Cor. 15. 19. The hope of a christian, as such, is suitable to its productive cause, the resurrection of Christ from the dead; begotten to a lively hope by the resurrection, &c. 1 Pet. 1. 3. Thence is it the hope of a renewed, never-dying life, the hope of a blessed immortality; whereof Christ's resurrection was a certain argument and pledge.

Indeed the new creature is, ab origine, originally, and all along a hoping creature, both in its primum and its porro esse ; It is conceived, and formed and nursed up in hope. In its production, and in its progress towards perfection, it is manifestly

influenced thereby. In the first return of the soul to God; hope being then planted as a part of the holy, gracious nature, now manifestly discovers itself, when the soul begins to act, (as turning after the reception of the divine influence, is its act) hope insinuates itself into (or induces rather) that very act. Returning is not the act of a despairing, but hoping soul. It is God apprehended as reconcileable, that attracts and wins it; while he is looked upon as an implacable enemy, the soul naturally shuns him, and comes not nigh, till drawn with those cords of a man, the bands of love. Hos. 11. 4. While it says, there is no hope, it says withal (desperately enough) I have loved strangers, and after them will I go. But if there be any hope in Israel, concerning this thing: if it can yet apprehend God willing to forgive, then let us make a covenant, &c. Ezr. 10. 2. 3. This presently draws the hovering soul into a closure and league with him. And thus is the union continued. Unsteadfastness in the covenant of God, is resolved into this not setting, (Psal. 78. 7-13.) or fixing of hope in him, or (which amounts to the same) setting of hope in God is directed as a means to steadfastness of spirit with him, and a keeping of his covenant. Revolting souls are encouraged to return to the Lord upon this consideration, that salvation is hoped for in vain from any other. (Jer. 3. 22. 23.) the case being indeed the same, in all afterconversions as in the first. God as multiplying to pardon, and still retaining the same name, the Lord, the Lord gracious and merciful, Exod. 34. 6. (which name in all the severals that compose and make it up, is in his Christ) invites back to him the backsliding sinner, and renews his thoughts of returning. And so is he afterwards under the teachings of grace led on by hope, through the whole course of religion towards the future glory. Grace appears, teaching sinners to deny ungodliness, &c. (Tit. 2. 11. 12. 13.) and in the looking for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of the great God, &c. So do they keep themselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Thus is the new creature formed in hope, and nourished in hope, and if its eye were upon pardon at first, it is more upon the promised glory afterwards. And yet that last end hath in a degree its attractive influence upon it, from the first formation of it; it is even then taught to design for glory. It is begotten to the lively hope, (where though hope be taken objectively, as the apposition shews of the following words, to an inheritance, yet the act is evidently connoted; for the thing hoped for, is meant under that notion, as hoped for :) and its whole following course is an aiming at glory; a seeking glory, honor, immortality, &c. Rom. 2. 7. Thus is the work of sanctification carried on; he that hath this hope purifieth himself. 1 John. 3. 3. Thus are losses sustained; The spoiling of goods taken joyfully through the expectation of the